Spinning-spindle.



C. H. CHAPMAN.

SPINNING SPINDLE.

APPLICATION FILED APR.16, 1908.

1,061,266. Patented May13,1913.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIoE.

CHARLES H. CHAPMAN, OF WINCH-ESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TC CHAPMAN GRAVITY SPINDLE COMEANY, 0F WINCHESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORA TIoN or MAINE.

SPINNING-SPINDLE.

Patented May 13,1913.

Application led April 16, 1908. Serial No. 427,377.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that IVGHARLES H. CnAr- MAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Winchester, in the county of Middlesex vand State of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in SpinningSpindles, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention is in the nature of an irnprovement upon the invention for which I received Letters Patent No. 875,503, dated December 31, 1907.

As in the invention of the patent, so here, the spindle is supported and turns in ballbearings secured in the upper and lower ends of a bolster, and this bolster is held suspended by its upper cylindrical portion in a bolstencase, and its lower portion is of smaller diameter than its upper portion and admits of a limited lateral movement of the bolster within the bolster-casc.

Differing from the spirally-cut flexible bolster of the patent, the bolster of the present invention is nontlexible, and it is provided below its upper cylindrical portion With a cushion to admit of the limited lat-- eral movement referred to.

These andother features, as herein particularly pointed out and claimed, constitute' the present invention.

In the accompanying drawings, illustratingthe invention, in the several figures of which like parts are similarly designated, Figure 1 is a longitudinal sect-ion, with the Spindle and bobbin broken out.. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the bolster detached. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the bolster` turned a quarter around from Fig. 2, Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of the locking spring clip detached. Fig. 6 is a central longitudinal section o the supporting tube. Fig. 7 is an elevation of theV supporting tube turned a quarter around from-Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is an elevation of a modified form of bolster and a longitudinal section of a portion of the bolster case.

The bolster-case 1 has the oil-well 2 and the screwthread 3, nut 4, base 5, oil-reservoir 6, and upright 7, substantially as in the patent referred to,`but any or all of these parts may be of other approved construction.

The spindle 8 has a cylindrical portion 9 .to tit the top of the bobbin, and the blade of the spindle tapers very slightly to a point below the cone 10 indicated by the transverse line in Fig. 1, and from this point the spindle tapers quite rapidly and terminates in an inverted cone 11.

'lhe upright 7 is eounterbored and shouldered at 12 to receive the supporting-tube 13, which is firmly held in and extends` above the upright 7. The inside diameter of the supporting-tube 13 is made the same diameter as that of the oil-well 2. The sup porting-tube 13 is longitudinally slotted at 14, the said slot 14 ending with an inwardly and upwardly tapering shoulder 15, for purposes hereinafter set forth. The supportng-tube 13 vis also provided with a hole 16 which admits the oil from the oil-reser voir 6 into the oil-well 2. The oil-reservoir Gis supplied with oil through a feed-tube 17 which is covered with a cap 18.

The bolster 19 is constructed with an enlarged upper end, having a flared or outwardly tapered portion 20, and above said' flared portion 20, a cylindrical portion 21, to receive and hold the hardened steel ball-cup 22, which is forced into and down against the tapered portion 20 of the bolster', and thereby the ball-cup 22 is alined concentrically`with the bolster. The upper edge ot the cylindrical portion 21 of the bolster is set around the upper and tapered portion of' the ball-cup 22, and thereby the ball-cup 22 is firmly secured in the enlarged upper end of the bolster.

Bearing-balls 23 are placed in the ball-cup 22 and around the cone 10, all of which are of hardened steel and form in the enlarged upper end of the bolster what is known as the holster-bearing i Below the enlarged upper end of the bolster is a cylindrical portion 24, and next below this is a tapered portion 25, and below the tapered portion 25 the bolster has a cylindrical portion 26, which extends to the bottom of the bolster.

The lower end of the bolster 19 is internally screw-'threaded to receive the step 27, which is externally screw-threaded to [it the internal screwthread in the bolster 19. 'lhe step has a hole 28 through its center, and is provided with a ball-race in its upper end to receive the balls 29. The conical end 11 of the spindle is stepped in the hole 28 and bears and rotates upon the balls 29. rIhe step 27, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, has a and this spring locking clip has lips 33 which enter holes 34 in the lower end of the bolster 19, as shown in Fig. 3,. therebeing a hole on either side of the bolster and thereby the said clip locks the step from turning in either direction. Thus'the clip is sup- 'ported by the bolster itself, and is adapted to move both laterally and vertically with the bolster.

The cone 11, balls 29 and step 27 are of hardened steel. v

35 is a spring, having an outwardly turned lip 36. This spring may be made by sawing two line parallel kerfs through the tapered portion 25 of the bolster and into the cylindrical portion 24, as shown in Fig.`

3. The object of the spring 35 and its lip is to engage the longitudinal slot 14 in the supporting-tube 13, and thereby prevent the bolster from rotating with the spindle. When the stop-pin is turned fromy over the horizontal flange of the whirl-base and the bolster is pulled upwardly, the lip 36 is forced inwardly by contact with the tapered end 15 of the slot, andl thus unlocked the bolster is readily withdrawn from the bolster-case.

Around the cylindrical portion 26 of the bolster, below the taperedportion 25, is

applied externally a band 37 of suitable material, such as a textile fabric, for example, a braided woolen tube, and said band is held in place by winding a strong thread around it, as at v38.. ,On t-he cylindrical portion 26, near its upper and lower ends, are beards 39, Figs. 1 and 2, the upper beards pointing upwardly and the lower beards pointing downwardly, and these beards prevent the band from slipping on the cylindrical portion 26 when moving the'bolster up and down in the bolster-case.

In the modification shown in Fig. 8, the angle-of inclination of the tapered portion 25 is notas great as in the first described construction, and there is below this portion a cylindrical portion 40 of larger diameter than the correspondin part first described, and this part is reduce Aat 41 to the size iirst described to receive the step-bearing. Between the walls of the oil-well 2 and the enlarged portion 40 is the space 42 in which is a body of oil, which forms an oil-cusl1ion between the bolster and walls of the oil-well.

When thelower suspended portion of the bolster takes on the movement required to enable the spindle to carry an unbalanced load, the oil in 'the space 42 has to be dislplaced by any lateral movement of the olster, and the displacing of the oil cushions the bolster and and prevents extreme vibration of the bolster. l

43 is an oil-hole in the bolster. The whirl-base 44 is secured lto the spindle in` any suitable way, and is adapted to receive the bobbin 45. The whirl-base is recessed internally from its bottom, as at 46,

and ends in a laterally projecting flange 47 which cooperates with the stop-pin 48 on the base.

The sleeve-whirl has its sleeve 49 forced y 'ing-drum of the spinning frames now in use.

In practical use it has been found desirable to allow the spindle a slight' upward movement to enable the horizontal A[ange to strike a slight blow against the stop-pin in order to loosen the bobbin from the spindle and thereby obviate the necessity of pulling voff the bobbin by force. This avoids the possibility of the spindle being sprung out of true, and it also facilitates the work of dofling and of piecing up broken ends. f

The parts are preferably assembled as follows: The cone 10 is forced down upon the spindle into place; the bearing balls 23 are arranged in the ball-cup 22, and the upper portion 21 of the bolster 19 is applied to the spindle,` cone, and ball-cup, and the upper end of the portion 21 is set about the' ball-cup, as shown in Fig.- 1. The whirlbase is neXt placed upon the spindle; the balls 29 are next placed inthe ball-race of the step 27u The step 27 containing the balls 29 is then screwed up into the lower end of the bolster until the balls 29 come up against the conical end11 of the spindle. The step 27 is then adjusted untilthe spindle fits freely in its bearings without lateral play, and the spring locking clip 321s pressed up into one of the nicks 30 in the lower end of the step which is brought .lin line with the slits 31 cut through the lower end of the bolster 19, and the lips 33 drop into the holes 34 which are opposite to each other in the lower end of the bolster 19, and thus the step is securely locked from turn ing in either direction. The whirl is next placed up and aroundthe bolster and forced into the recess in the-bottom of the whirl- `base. The spindle, cone, bolster-bearing,

whirl-base, step-bearing and whirl having been adjusted, the bolster is then placed 1n toward the spindle until it will enter the supporting-tube 13, and the bolster is forced down into the bolster-case unt-il the tapered portion 20 rests upon the upper end of the supporting-tube 13, and the lip 36 on the 'spring 35 snaps into the longitudinal slot 14 in the tube 13, which prevents the bolster from rotating with the spindle. The supporting-tube 13 may be dispensed with, and the upright 7 extended to a height and turned in diameter to correspond with the upper end of the tube 13, and a longitudinal slot may be made in the interior of the upright 7, to take the place of the slot 14 in the tube 13; but as a matter of economy, it is deemed advisable to construct the bolster base with the upright tube 13. The bolster having been placed in position in the bolstercase, Y the stop-pin 48 is turned around over the laterally projecting flange 47 of the whirl-base, thereby preventing the bolster and spindle frombeing pulled out of the bolster-case. The spindle, cone, bolster, bolster-bearing, step-bearing, whirlbase and whirl all move laterally and vertically together. rlhe cylindrical portion 24.- of the bolster 19 is made to fit with Sullicient looseness in the upper end of the supporting-tube 13 to enable the lower end of the spindle and bolster to take on the movement required to allow the spindle and bobbin to run steadily. The plane of the bandpull upon the whirl is at or near the center of the cylindrical portion 24- of the bolster, and tends on account of its lateral pressure to hold the spindle in a vertical posit-ion, and the variation of the tension of the band will have no tendency to deflect the spindle out of a perpendicular position. Below the cylindrical portion 24 the bolster tapers to a. smaller diameter which hangs suspended in the oil-well 2 and out of contact with the inner walls of the bolster-case, and this suspended portion of the bolster is cushioned, which admits of a sul'licicnt lateral yielding movement of the lower portion of the bolster and spindle to enable the spindle to carry an unbalanced load, and this operation would be impossible with a spindle not.

Speed, take on a gyratory movement around,

a center of gravity through the spindle and its unbalanced load, and the laterally yielding port-ion of the bolster conforms to this gyratory movement of the spindle, and the spindle and bobbin will run quite steadily.

In carrying an unbalanced load, 1t isimportant to keep 'a perfect adjustment of the lower end of the spindle in the step-bearing, and this is effected in the present invent1on by virtue of the fact that the tension caused by the band-pull acts to force the step-bearing into proper adjustment on account of thel Contact of the bolster bearing-balls with the downward and outward taper of the cone 10. The tendency of the band-pull is to causethe cone to add a downward presv sure sutlicient to adjust the spindle in the step-bearing when the adjustments of the step-bearing and the bolster-bearing are quite loose.

The lubrication in the present invention is very thorough, since the reservoir 1s filled with oi] which flows through the hole 16 into the oil-well, and is carried upward on the spindle by centrifugal force, owing to the increasing diameter of the spindle, and 1s spun out and thrown off at the upper end of the lower tapered portion of the cone 10, and on to the balls in the upper bearing, thereby keeping them continually lubricated. This movement of the oil is facilitated by the upward and outward taper ofthe cone 10.

The spindle, cone, whirl-base and whirl are supported and revolve in the bolsterbearing and step-bearing and have no other support or contact. y

Instead of using the textile substance on the bolster or the oil as a cushion, I may use springs, as set forth in a concurrent case of mme. 1 i.

The invention is not limited to the detail construction shown and described, since I may use any well-known equivalent which comes within the spirit of the invention. Moreover, the invention is applicable to bolster and step bearings of the journal type.

lVhat I claim is y 1. A spindle, a cushioned non-flexible bolster having transverse slits in its bottom, a ball-bearing in the top of said bolster, and a ball-bearing adjustable step in the bottom of said bolster to receive the spindle, said step having transverse notches, a locking clip `engaging said slits and notches andV supported by said bolster independently of the surrounding parts, anda bolster-case in which said bolster is mounted and supported to move laterally and vertically with the spindle.

2. A bolster-case, a bolster mounted and supported therein and having a bolster bearing in its top and transverse slits in its bottom, and an adjustable step-bearing 1n the bottom of said bolster to receive the spindle and providedI with notches across its bottom, a locking clip engaging said slits and notches and attached 'to and supported by the said bolster independently of the surrounding parts, the spindle, bolster, bolsterbearing, step-bearing and locking clip adapted to move both laterally and vertically together.

3. A. bolster, having an enlarged upper end and a cylindrical portion below said upper end, a bolster-case in the upper end of which the bolster is adapted to be loosely sustained, a spring forming a part of the said bolster, a supporting part for said bolster having a longitudinal slot With an in- Wardly tapered shoulder at its upper end to act upon the spring to facilitate the removal of said bolster from the bolster-case.'v

4. A bolster, having an enlarged upper end, a bolster-bearing in said upper end, a cylindrical portion below the said upper end, a spring extending from the said cylindrical portion and adapted to enter a longitudinal slot in the upper end of the bolster-oase to restrain the bolster from rotating with the spindle, an adjustable step-bearing in the lower end of said bolster, said adjustable step-bearing having transverse nicks across its-bottom adapted to be alined with a transverse nick across the bottom of the said bolster, a locking clip adapted to enter the nick in the bolster, and one of the transverse nicks in the step-bearing, said locking clip attached to and supported by the bolster inlthe bolster-case and having a slot engaged by a spring on the bolster to prevent rotation of the bolster, and a yielding medium interposed between the lower end of the bolster and the adjacent portions of the bolstercase to cushion said bolster as it yields laterally under stress of use.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 13th day of April, A. D. 1908. CHARLES H. CHAPMAN. Witnesses:

E. PUTNEY, GRACE B. NAULT. 

